The parliament of the Republic of Macedonia voted to go for early elections on April 24, this evening, after accepting the resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who is in power for almost a decade, leading the largest self-designed Christian Democratic party of VMRO-DPMNE.

In an express string of actions, President Gjorgje Ivanov appointed Emil Dimitriev as the new, interim Prime Minister to lead the technical government until the elections take place. Some moments ago, the parliament voted for the new interim government led by Dimitriev.

The vote in the Parliament took place in absence of the opposition MPs who boycotted the vote. The ruling parties of VMRO-DPMNE and DUI explain this move as part of the implementation of the EU-brokered political agreement to end the political crisis in the country.

Earlier this evening, the leading opposition party SDSM has announced that they will not take part in the elections without implementation of the most important conditions in the political agreement – revision of the Voters Register and liberation of media.

All this happens in only a few hours, despite analysis and strong recommendations by experts and civil society organizations who warn that conditions for free elections are more important than the date of the elections.